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.”Matty tipped an imaginary hat, smiled quietly, and then popped the cap on his second beer.“G’day, Tahira.Sorry our introduction isn’t under more pleasant circumstances.”She smiled at him.His underlying scent reminded her of a summer picnic in the park and it reminded her of home.She already knew that the phones weren’t working, but she needed to contact her folks as soon as possible to let them know that she was okay and find out if they’d heard from Rabi.Maybe he’s already escaped and I’m the only one still missing.Antoine’s voice showed a small amount of humor that made her look up.“The lovely lady at the desk with the dropped jaw is Margo Ritzman.”Margo was staring at Matty with something approaching awe.He turned his head and regarded her with a bit of challenge in his expression.“You spoke English! Real, understandable English!”He laughed.“Thanks heaps! I am a uni graduate, luv, with a couple years of grad school in the States.I talk to Antoine that way because it’s comfortable and he understands it.Well… and of course, because it bothers you.” He turned to Tahira again and winked.“I’m a true blue, dinky-di cockroach, darls, but for your benefit, I’ll pretend I’m a Yank.”Tahira laughed.She liked Matty! “We had an exchange student from Queensland when I was in school, so I’ll try to follow along.”“A banana bender, eh? Yeah, well they’re sort of Aussie, I suppose.”She took a sip from her wine and said with a small amount of teasing, “Strange, he said the same about people from New South Wales.” She nodded to Margo.“Nice to meet you.Are you by any chance on the internet? My parents must be frantic about me.Maybe I could send them an e-mail?” She bit her lip hopefully.Margo looked to Antoine significantly and he took a slow breath.Either he was really good at hiding his emotions, or he wasn’t concerned, because he didn’t smell of deceit.“I think we might arrange that if we have a connection,” Antoine said, which caused a brief look of surprise on Margo’s face.She quickly turned back to the computer.“I’ll check to see.It wasn’t up a few minutes ago.I’ve been working on some other things off-line.”While she opened the programs to try to connect, Antoine waved Tahira to the couch.“Why don’t we sit down and be comfortable.Matty, I believe you were going to tell me about your trip.”Tahira sat down on the couch closest to the fire with her wine and curled her legs under her.She was surprised, and slightly pleased, when Antoine sat down next to her, nearly touching her slippered feet.The clothing that had been waiting in her room when she awoke was obviously expensive, in current style, and fit fairly well.The slippers were hand-knitted and wonderfully warm.It was almost as though she had been expected, which was a bit eerie.Sort of like being around Grammy, a ruhsal who knew things.***“How long will you be gone?” Antoine continued.He noticed that Matty had started to put his feet back up on the table but stopped himself with a look of frustration.He tried to readjust his position on the couch, but they were for built for Charles’s massive form, not an ordinary human.The cushions were deep but firm, and sloped a bit toward the front.Antoine noticed it was difficult to stay seated without putting his feet on something.With a wink and a deliberate smile at Matty, he lifted his feet and placed them on the table with a dull thump that caused Margo to turn around viciously in her chair.Her mouth had just opened to reprimand Matty when she paled at the sight of her employer’s heavy leather boots on the table instead.He raised his brows innocently.“Is there a problem, Margo?”She shook her head, probably not trusting herself to speak, and turned back to her computer.Matty mouthed the words, “Thanks, mate!” and gave a thumbs up.He lifted his feet and let them set gently on the table, then leaned back a sigh.Antoine continued as though he hadn’t been interrupted.“We’ll have to arrange for someone to care for the cats while you’re away.”“Yeah, Margo’s working on that part.I know a bloke at the Taronga Zoo who wants to get out of Oz.He might like to visit the States for a turn.The plan is to only be gone for two weeks.But you know what they say about plans.”“Of course, it’s not my business where you take your vacation, but you seem a bit… worried about it.”Actually, he smelled worried but excited at the same time.“For good reason, mate.Do you remember the letter I got from the barrister in Sydney before you left for the States?”Antoine nodded.“The one that was dated months before and had traveled to a dozen different locations, following our show around?”“Yeah.Well, I finally got hold of the bloke and it seems that I had a grandfather I didn’t know was still alive…well, actually, he’s not alive anymore.That was the point of the letter.”A light fog of sorrow drifted to his nose from Tahira.“Your grandfather died? I’m sorry.My dad’s father died just last year.”He nodded in thanks.“Yeah.It would have been nice to have known he was about.Mum never told me about any of my dad’s family.But the barrister told me plenty.It seems he was a jackaroo out in the bush—” He turned to Tahira and amended, “That’s a station hand at a farming operation down in the Australian outback.” He noticed Tahira’s understanding, and continued, “But he inherited a bit of land in the outback, about five hundred hectares, a click or so from Lake Mungo.He left it to me in his will.”Tahira was sipping her wine and nearly choked.“Five hundred acres is a bit of land?”Matty shook his head with a chuckle.“Not acres, luv.A hectare is about two of your acres.It’s closer to a thousand acres.And yeah, that’s a dinky bit of land in the outback [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]